You Are In My Heart
by LtTanyaBoone
Summary: 3 short one-shots to the three verses of the song "The Man Who Would Be Santa" by Vertical Horizon, not really a songfic
1. Chapter 1: Moonlight

_Title:_ You Are In My Heart_  
Disclaimers:_ NCIS, the rights to the show and its characters do not belong to me. No money was made by this. Inspired by the song "The Man Who Would Be Santa", which belongs to _Vertical Horizon_._  
A/N:_ English is not my native language. So please forgive me my grammar and spelling mistakes._  
Spoilers:_ Hiatus I&II, I guess. And what little background we have of the male members of the team, including Ducky and Palmer._  
Pairing:_ none mentioned, take your pick with the first chapter, I know what I intended it to be, but just like with _Summer Nights_, there are no names mentioned_  
Summary:_ 3 short one-shots to the three verses of the song "The Man Who Would Be Santa" by Vertical Horizon._  
A/N2:_ Yes, I realize this is the second story today, and the second one inspired by a song by Vertical Horizon. If you like Tabitha's Secret, Goo Goo Dolls, Dishwalla and/or Lifehouse, you should check them out. They're awesome. The italicized parts are the lyrics that inspired the scene.

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_And the man who would be Santa slips into the room__  
And the hour of daylight's yet to come but he hopes they don't wake too soon  
__All the presents wrapped in paper and tied with a bow__  
The children sleep upstairs and Santa works below  
And he can hear the children dreaming  
_

Slowly, he crept down the stairs in his house, cringing inwardly when the floorboard of the last step creaked under his weight. He paused and listened. The house lay still in the middle of the night, not a single sound could be heard besides his ragged breathing and his pounding heart. Relaxing, he made his way to the living room and opened the cupboard. Pushing away some tablecloth, he reached into the darkness and felt his fingers close around the objects of his desire. As silently as possible, he pulled them out and stood up.

The moonlight fell through the windows as he walked over to the decorated tree and placed the two wrapped presents underneath. It had taken him over an hour to wrap them up. Normally, that was the job of his wife, but he could hardly ask her to wrap her own present. And if he did, it would not be a surprise, would it?

A soft smile crossed his face, and for a moment, he stood there, completely happy and content. This would be their first Christmas as a family. Not just husband and wife any more, their beautiful daughter would be with them this time. Speaking of which, their little bundle of joy would awake in a few hours. He better go back to bed and catch some much needed sleep.

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	2. Chapter 2: Leaving Train

Chapter 2: Leaving Train

_And the man who would be Santa tells his son to write  
And to call him if he needs him in the middle of the night  
__Don't you worry don't you cry now you'll do just fine__  
Your mother and I love you  
__We think about you all the time  
And he can see the train is leaving_

When the letter had come, he had been so happy. He was not the first one in his family to go to college, but this would be his dream coming true. The hard work at school, the evenings spent leaning over books and notes, studying instead of going out with his friends and partying were finally paying off. He would leave his home to do what he had always wanted for as long as he could remember. He would leave his home, the place he grew up at, the place he had spent the last eighteen years of his life.

The day he had to leave, his mother was crying nonstop. She was an emotional woman, always had been, so it was hardly surprising. She had never seen her child off before. He hugged her, promised her to behave and eat properly, to write and come visit them as soon as he could, but at Christmas the latest. And he was intent on keeping his promise. He also had to promise her to go out and make new friends instead of just spending his time hunched over his book, studying for his exams. Then she stepped back, and his father took a step forward.

At first, he was unsure. He loved his father very much, but the man had always been a bit distant. Caring, but not too much, either. But just as he extended his hand, his father hugged him tightly. And he didn't know what surprised him more: the hug, or the reassurance of his father that he would do just fine at college, or the request to call them whenever he needed anything, even if it was just someone to talk to. Or the whispered I love you. Or even the proud look in his eyes and the lone tear on his cheek as he finally let go of him and handed him his bag so he could board the train that would take him to his future.

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	3. Chapter 3: Storyteller

Chapter 3: Storyteller

_Now the old man sits and tells of days when time stood still  
The hours always seem to fade but the memory never will  
All the love that you gave me  
All the dreams in the night  
And I just want to thank you while the day's still light  
But I can see the sun is setting  
_

It was always a sight people blinked at. The group was often seen at the bar, but the times when they all sat together at a table were rare.

They usually came alone or in small pairs. Celebrating victories and successful investigations, or licking their wounds after a bad day or drowning their sorrows after a particularly though case. Most of the time it was two young women, one of them a bubbly Goth, the other an exotic beauty, and two men, one playboy and one geek. The Goth always seemed to have a glass to many, and while the other woman could hold her liquor most of the time, there were days when she downed one glass right after the other, until she was really drunk. Whatever seemed to be on her mind those times, her colleagues did not attempt to stop her at those time. They just made sure she got enough non-alcoholic beverages into her to stay hydrated, and took turns getting her home safely.

Sometimes another young man with glasses came with them, or joined them a little later. He seemed to be on better terms with the bubbly Goth and the Beauty than with the two guys, though there was also something geek-ish to him. He was more naïve and a lot more shyer than the two other men. He also drank a lot less than the two women, switching to Tonic Water after his second beer.

And there was of course the red-head that joined them on occasion. She could easily keep up with the number of drinks Beauty downed. Sometimes, she was accompanied by a man, slightly older- his hair which he kept in a military haircut had already gone grey. He had an authoritarian air that sometimes surrounded the redhead, too. But with him, it was always present. And when he came along, no one got drunk.

But even when they all were talking loudly, laughing at stupid jokes (depending on how many drinks they had already had), something seemed to be missing. Their laughter did not reach their eyes half of the time. They still seemed on edge, concerned, guarded. Something was missing, something that always came with an elderly gentleman.

When he walked into the bar with them or after them, they always sat down at one of the round tables, not sticking to the bar like they usually did. They would always order the same drinks, even when they had been drinking something differently before. Two Bourbon, two Mojitos, one Vodka Red Bull, two beers and a tea. After his first sip of the hot liquid, the gentleman adjusted his bowtie and then started telling one of his numerous stories. And the others would listen intently, sipping their drinks, nodding from time to time. And while he filled out the graphic details and descriptions with hand gestures, one after another around the table would slowly break into a soft, content smile. A happy smile that lit up their eyes and the entire room. The sight people would stare at before breaking into a oft smile of their own.

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And this is the end of You Are In My Heart. BTW, the title also does not belong to me, as you may have been able to figure out, it's a line from "The Man Who Would Be Santa".

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